STUTTGART, Germany  Fabian Cancellara retained the men's time trial title Thursday at the road cycling world championships by overwhelming the opposition.

The Swiss rider covered the hilly 27.9-mile course over Stuttgart's streets in 55 minutes, 41 seconds, leaving Laszlo Bodrogi of Hungary 52 seconds behind in second and Stef Clement of the Netherlands 58 seconds back in third.

"It was a hard thing, there was bigger pressure on me than last year," Cancellara said.

"I am not in the same condition as last year. I'm pretty satisfied ... We will drink a glass of champagne or more."

Cancellara, who wore the leader's yellow jersey for the first week of the Tour de France after winning the prologue, retained the title he won last year in Graz, Austria.

In cloudy and cool conditions, Cancellara overtook Vladimir Gusev even though the Russian started one minute before him. The Swiss also caught up with last year's silver medalist David Zabriskie of the United States, who started two minutes earlier and faded to 12th.

Fabian Cancellara from Switzerland, front, pedals to win the Men's Time Trial at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. In the background is Russia's Vladimir Gusev. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle)